I think this one is, meh, okay. Good enough for today’s pop punk bands. I’ll post more takes later since I’m set up for recording again. Its hard to pick one take over the other. Maybe with enough tries, one will stand out as particularly good?

Should I have repeated the same 4 measures twice, like the Week 25 “Back In Time” solo does?

I like how the original Week 25 solo doesn’t resolve at the end because the backing track sounds cool that way. The backing track starts off kind of eerie so it ends eerie, it matches the mood well. So I did the same thing.

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! The glutens will be eaten with relish!
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

Sounds nice. Only input I can give is the beat felt a little pushed in the beginning and I think some tasty vibrato on the sustains would add a lot. I’m also a fan of small subtle slides up to the notes starting each phrase and then a subtle slide down at the end of the phrases. Just those tiny things can make an already good lead pack twice as much of a punch. I’ll try to get a recording in of this one myself.

I agree with MC… a little rushed at the beginning. You seem to have the same tendency as I do of constantly playing notes throughout, not a bad thing, but I am trying to add pauses to let the lead breathe a little.

Thank you for posting an attempt, no matter how “meh” you feel it is. It is an inspiration to me when others have the courage to do this, because I still really don’t have the courage to let others hear what I am playing.

I agree with everything Motley said too. I didnt get on the beat very well. (Maybe I need to take into account that the backing track doesnt have a count-in too). Also I need to work on those flourishes that make it sound more pro. I play more like GP6 still, not like a human guitarist with style.

3. 1 day later: “geez that really blew, I cant believe I ever thought it was good. yuck. worthless.”

4. 3 days later: “well it’s not so bad after all, it’s all right.”

5. 2 weeks later: “yuck I cant believe I recorded that, its horrible. but at least my new recording wont sound that bad cuz I’ll have gotten better and then I’ll see improvement which is cool.”

(repeat from step 1)

I’ll post a new attempt later.

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! The glutens will be eaten with relish!
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

Doug really laid down the gauntlet in the week 25 practice solo. 😮 I think the phrase was “I expect that NOBODY plays this correctly”

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! The glutens will be eaten with relish!
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

all good points already made.
a further point about rhythmic diversity…
think about rhythm guitar and the kind of accents and stops that you encounter playing rhythm and apply them to parts of your lead.
and yes, pauses…whether it’s holding a note with vibrato or a rest with a space of silence.
then don’t forget different techniques like hammer-ons and pull-offs; finger slides; pinch harmonics; etc.
and while i understand bends were left out on purpose they can also provide another level of variance in how to play a note.

nonetheless, not a bad sounding lead.
now get back in there and let it rip. \m/

think about rhythm guitar and the kind of accents and stops that you encounter playing rhythm and apply them to parts of your lead.

I’m not sure specifically what you mean by this. One thing I was reviewing this past week with improv playing, was how blues guys seem to mix up the lead single notes with chords or 5ths or 4ths then go back to single notes. I played around with some of these ideas the other day but as for playing chords inside the solo, that gets into, I guess, knowing the key and chord progression or etc to play the right thing at the right time. Do you mean like, chromatic walk-ups to the next scale note? That’s a rhythm guitar thing I suppose?

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! The glutens will be eaten with relish!
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

think about rhythm guitar and the kind of accents and stops that you encounter playing rhythm and apply them to parts of your lead.

I’m not sure specifically what you mean by this. One thing I was reviewing this past week with improv playing, was how blues guys seem to mix up the lead single notes with chords or 5ths or 4ths then go back to single notes. I played around with some of these ideas the other day but as for playing chords inside the solo, that gets into, I guess, knowing the key and chord progression or etc to play the right thing at the right time. Do you mean like, chromatic walk-ups to the next scale note? That’s a rhythm guitar thing I suppose?

i’m thinking more about the rhythmic pattern than the chords or notes of the rhythm. ac/dc is a great example. take highway to hell…the main verse rhythm. don’t worry about the chords just think of the pattern of the rhythm. verablize the rhythm…like…
na na na * * * na na na * * * na na na * na na na * na * na na
if you’re anything like me you’ve verbalized that guitar sound while playing air guitar and head banging like angus.
now take that pattern and play notes from your scale of choice. change up the notes but keep that pattern going.
then try it with other songs with a strong rhythm.
then work that type of thing in with scale run sequences and other licks.
if that still doesn’t make sense i may have to find some time this weekend to record what i mean.

When I try to think of a good example of “rhythmic diversity” in straight-forward lead playing over a simple beat, the song that pops into my head is the Stevie Ray Vaughan version of “May I have a talk with you”. Even though a lot of it could be described as “stock licks”, it still conveys that feeling of spontaneity and musicality. Also notice the way he deliberately lets his vocals toy with the rhythm. (Of course, since it’s SRV, it’s vibrato and bend heavy, which can be helpful to make longer notes sound interesting). I also think the solo here helps show the Jimi Hendrix influence in SRV’s playing.

It is an inspiration to me when others have the courage to do this, because I still really don’t have the courage to let others hear what I am playing.

So Paul one super easy thing.. don’t improvise, just play doug’s classic lick’s. Pick 3 or 5 of them and just play them over backing with your own rhythm feel. You will sound pro for sure. Effectively it isn’t your playing, it’s doug’s licks, yet at the same time it’s still you. I havent been doing this regularly like I should but spent 90 mins today working on the licks over youtube backing tracks and was surprised at how cool those licks sound over backing. I cant play them very fast but I can fit the lick to the rhythm and tempo I can handle. I havent memorized them effectively either.. I just play them while looking at the PDF tab.

I’ve asked tons of guitarists including pro jazz guys, who I always figured, are making stuff up on the spot.. they always say the same thing- “i’m playing licks I learned from other songs and linking them together”. It’s a good technique because the licks have consistently a pro sound.

For my improv practice, mostly I noodle over the patterns and dont play canned licks, because, I use it as a way to practice moving thru the patterns. but melodically, hands down, it would be better if I took the time to continually memorize and practice doug’s licks in order to pull them out of a hat..

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! The glutens will be eaten with relish!
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

here’s something i whipped up this evening to show an example of what i was talking about in using rhythms within your lead improvs.
starts off with my sloppy playing of highway to hell rhythm.
then using that rhythm and the Am pentatonic to play over an Am backing track.
and the two more improv examples of mixing in rhythm elements into playing lead.
hope it makes sense…